Dr. Faksawat Poohphajai successfully defended her PhD about Bioinspired Living Coating System for Wood Protection, at the Aalto University School of Chemical Engineering, Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems.

She was developing this research topic under supervision of Prof. Lauri Rautkari, Aalto University School of Chemical Engineering, and thesis advisors Dr. Tiina Belt, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), and Dr. Anna Sandak and Dr. Jakub Sandak from InnoRenew CoE.

The doctoral thesis explored the use of bioinspired fungal biofilms, specifically Aureobasidium pullulans, as a sustainable alternative for protecting wood surfaces. The goal of the research was to explore the potential of A. pullulans to form resilient biofilms on wood, assess their performance in protecting against fungal degradation, and evaluate the long-term survival of fungal cells within the coating under various environmental conditions. The PhD was conducted as part of Archi-skin project.

Congratulations Faksawat!